By
now most people have at least heard of Vine, the app which lets users capture 6-second looping videos to share. Like most new apps, it has taken awhile for users to build and roll out tools for browsing content and creatively expanding its use. Here are some sites and tips to help new and seasoned Vine users get more out of what has become one of my favorite apps...

Vine-centric Sites

Sure, you can explore and watch Vine videos through the mobile app, but if
you want to watch videos from another device through a browser, Vine hasn't yet offered an official viewer like Instagram. But there are a
number of sites that serve up Vine clips in different ways.

Vpeeker, formerly Vine Peeker, was one of the first sites developed for browsing outside the Vine app. It’s an endless stream of the
latest Vines being uploaded. Note, you don’t have any control over what you’re
being offered to view, so it’s for those who just want to see a random assortment of the
latest. One cool and unique function of Vpeeker is viewers can “record” and
save Vine clips to you watch later and share through social media...sort of like a miniature DVR!

All Around The Vinesis a personal favorite because it takes the Vine watching experience out of a small
square box and expands the video across the width of a browser view. The design is
social media friendly and allows you to filter and explore Vines based upon
hashtag categories. You also see the tweet connected to the originating Vine, making following new content creators easy.

Vinesmap
is also a favorite because of the app's fascinating global perspective. Vinesmap uses
OpenStreetMap data to pull geotagged Vines from all across the globe for viewing. Drag your mouse across the part of
the world you’re curious about and you can zoom in on the map and watch Vine from specific geographic locations.

SearchAlthough
you’re able to search for specific Vines through the mobile app, there's not yet a way to pull embeddable URLs to share from other users' accounts (especially a pain for someone like myself who works in social media). Vineyard is a Vine search engine that
lets you search for Vines based on keywords or hashtags, but at this time it seems a bit limited; we hope to see Vine follow Instagram's footsteps offer easier sharing tools outside the app itself. For now your best bet is to use Twitter and use the hashtag #vine alongside any specific keywords for search (e.g. #cats, #howto #pizza).

Vine Producing TipsVine
recently added the function to create videos using the front-facing iPhone
camera, opening the doors for some great selfie Vines. Before you press the camera icon
to start recording, there’s now an arrow flip icon on the bottom left hand
corner that will flip the camera to the front facing one.

Maybe you've created a video outside of the Vine app, but want to share a clip using the app. You'll need iExplorer; here is a step-by-step tutorial showing how to create custom clips perfect for Vine upload.

Create stop-motion effects by tapping the record button only for a split second, then reposition items, repeating the process for each progressive movement. At the end of recording, you'll have a magical little number like Yash Banka's animated piece above.

Mashables put together this helpful Pro Tips primer for Vine production, highlighting the important of lighting and something steady to hold your iOS device while recording.